Country Western Engagement | Emily + Matt

August 10, 2024

When I tell you this country western engagement session was EVERYTHING, I’m not kidding! It was truly SO GOOD and am so proud of the outcome!

I’m really at a loss of words on what to say about this couple or the turn out of their shoot. This was my second time working with both Emily and Matt. However, it was this session that felt so special to me. It was their engagement! The fact that they put their trust in me to capture “their story”..was amazing! Such a wonderful feeling that meant the world to me, more than they will ever know!

Well Let’s Get Into It

Emily and I spent sometime talking about the vision she wanted for the photos, the story we wanted to tell. When she landed on finding a dive bar I was completely sold! Matt and Emily both have a thing for dive bars so we knew it would be the perfect fit for them! Then they were thinking with a little country twist, which wasn’t even a question. It was so them!

Next it was time to find the a dive bar that had character. I asked E if she had one in mind and all she could come up with was a dive bar down in Montana in the Paradise Valley area. Don’t get me wrong, when she mentioned that my response was “lets do it, I’ll pack now”..ps, I do travel and will never say no to anything! Although, it wasn’t in the cards for them this time around..fingers crossed for the future.

The Perfect Country Western Engagement Bar

Anyways, they were thinking a bar around the city of Asheville North Carolina where they live. I took the reins and found a amazing little bar down in Black Mountain North Carolina about 15 minutes, give or take outside of Asheville. The Town Pump Tavern, this little bar is nestled in the downtown area of Black Mountain NC. I believe it is one of the oldest bars in the town. SO COOL and boy did it have it’s own unique style! I was so happy when we got inside, so funky and had a TON of character.

Truth be told this was my very first session in a bar. However, leading up to this moment I was filled with so much anxiety! The plan was set and we were suppose to have the bar to ourselves for 30 minutes. Well things changed and the bar decided to open earlier than normal, which was a surprise but I think I totally killed it! Plus both E+M were so consumed in each other, they didn’t even mind all that much.

Next, we headed deeper up into the Blue Ridge Mountain of North Carolina and hit the Blue Ridge Parkway to play around. This was a very fun and playful part of their shoot, and we all had a totally blast with it!

To my surprise this turned out to be one of my favorite shoots at the moment. Everything feel into place and I honestly couldn’t believe it! I only dream of having another country western engagement session back in North Carolina or maybe one day, Montana! Reach out, I’d love to chat and capture your STORY!